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Re: HES FORTH for VIC20 available?
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2019 6:43 am
by edx
Thanks Nyef.
As Datatronic VICFORTH was mentioned below is a link to that one. I've updated the zip with a new version of the MS-DOS screen editor (old one didn't work under DOSBOX for some reason). Also included is a disassembly. There appears to be some free space in the ROM image potentially allowing a bug-fix for the U* U/ functions which plagued this and other early 6502 Fig-forth implementations.
http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?fi ... 5148614814
Re: HES FORTH for VIC20 available?
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2019 4:34 pm
by cbmeeks
I just searched for "VIC-20 HES" on eBay and saw a listing for $10 or so that had a bunch of carts. In the lot, was a red labeled HES Forth cart. Might be worth bidding on.
...you cleaned your keyboard with an India pale ale?
I clean mine with single malt Scotch while I'm drinking Isopropyl alcohol.
Oh crap...I think I've been doing that backwards!
I have no problem with sending the file to some person or organization that will deal with it appropriately, I have no idea who or what that might be.
Best place to ask would be over at the Denial forums. If you want to send the file to me, I will start a topic over there and ask where to archive it. I don't think there were many Forth's made for the VIC-20 so it would be nice to have.
Thanks for doing that!
Re: HES FORTH for VIC20 available?
Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 2:20 am
by edx
A zip containing HES VICFORTH dump, manual scan and disassembly is here:
http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?fi ... 1945757767
Thanks to everyone involved!
Re: HES FORTH for VIC20 available?
Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 3:54 pm
by cbmeeks
When I try to decompress it, it says not an archive.
How was it packaged up?
Re: HES FORTH for VIC20 available?
Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 4:19 pm
by barrym95838
It seems to download and extract just fine on my beat-up old Windoze Vi$ta machine.
Re: HES FORTH for VIC20 available?
Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 4:53 pm
by cbmeeks
Well, it's probably because I can't visit that download site from where I'm at. So I did it on my phone and sent the file over to DropBox. Then copied from DropBox to my PC. So I guess it got messed up in the translations.
I will try again later when I'm on a real computer.
Re: HES FORTH for VIC20 available?
Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 5:03 pm
by edx
When I try to decompress it, it says not an archive.
How was it packaged up?
WinRAR in ZIP mode. D/loaded & it extracted ok with WinRAR and Win10 explorer.
Re: HES FORTH for VIC20 available?
Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 6:31 pm
by cbmeeks
I use 7zip which works with RAR files. I think the problem was my phone. When I am at home later, on my real computer, I will download it then.

Re: HES FORTH for VIC20 available?
Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2019 1:48 am
by cbmeeks
FYI, I uploaded the ROM here:
http://sleepingelephant.com/ipw-web/bul ... f=2&t=9484
I also tested it in Vice. Seemed to work but my Forth skills are very rusty.
Thanks!
Re: HES FORTH for VIC20 available?
Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2019 3:57 am
by edx
I encountered an issue that puzzling. After loading a screen previously saved to a file (cassette or disk) it would be followed
by a string of junk graphic characters and an error msg. I managed to avoid the spurious junk and error msg by executing
the following after booting up HES VICFORTH:
FIRST LIMIT OVER - ERASE
This zeroes the disk buffers in RAM including the important 4 extra bytes that follow each buffer. Those 4 bytes not being
zero is what caused the junk/error message.
What's puzzling is that I should need to this at all. I'm using VICE. Maybe a real VIC with HES cartridge works differently?
Re: HES FORTH for VIC20 available?
Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2019 4:57 am
by edx
What's puzzling is that I should need to this at all.
Ok so I found out the same can be achieved using WIPE.
1 EDIT WIPE
will initialize the buffer after which the LOADS command can be used to retrieve the screen from the file without the
junk & error message.
Re: HES FORTH for VIC20 available?
Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2019 1:48 pm
by cbmeeks
Re: HES FORTH for VIC20 available?
Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2019 11:55 pm
by edx
An ascii text OCR of the manual will be available shortly. I need to clean up a few errors.
Re: HES FORTH for VIC20 available?
Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2019 1:58 am
by edx
An ascii text OCR of the manual will be available shortly. I need to clean up a few errors.
It's now ready. I omitted scans of the fig-Forth manual included in the PDF (not sure it was
originally provided and can be obtained separately in any case).
http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?fi ... 9800039123
Re: HES FORTH for VIC20 available?
Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2019 4:52 am
by edx
What's puzzling is that I should need to this at all.
Ok so I found out the same can be achieved using WIPE.
1 EDIT WIPE
will initialize the buffer after which the LOADS command can be used to retrieve the screen from the file without the
junk & error message.
Reading the manual I was reminded of an easier way. Just place ;S after the last item on the
screen that you want interpreted. ;S immediately stops forth from interpreting the remainder
of the screen - thereby avoiding the problematic trailing null bytes.